


Life is Complicated and Writing is Hard

by HellKingCrowley, Michael Fickz (donutmaster)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, NO OC'S, Other, Sometimes OOC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5584204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellKingCrowley/pseuds/HellKingCrowley, https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutmaster/pseuds/Michael%20Fickz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Shurley family move to a new town now that their dad's writing career has taken off again after years of struggling.</p>
<p>It all starts when Castiel makes friends with Sam Winchester in school and Gabriel finally gets to meet his online friend Balthazar in real life...</p>
<p>...And it all ends with Sam in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This is where the story begins.

**Author's Note:**

> This story all started because we thought it'd be funny to have a Teen AU where Azazel was a pyromaniach and Alastair like baking instead of torturing people... have fun with our results that barely involve the two mentioned above.
> 
> http://cas-winchester-novak.tumblr.com/ helped me write this and has been my muse throughout. We have the main body of the story already, the later parts just need heavily editing and checking for continuity but I should be able to update this on at least a monthly basis if not more often depending on college.

“I’M GETTING THE BIGGEST ROOM!” Michael yelled as he tugged his case into the new house, a whine escaping him when his dad, Chuck, came in and hit him playfully on the back of the head.

“No kid that’s my room. You can find another,” he said with a grin, dumping his case by the stairs and going back outside to help Castiel with his case.

“I’M NOT A KID I’M NINETE- hey where’s Gabe?” he asked before Luce popped his head around the doorway.

“He’s trying to find sweets, where else do you expect him to be?” Lucifer asked, rolling his eyes a little and sighing before giving his brother a grin, “I’m gonna go call dibs on my room!”

“DON’T BE A DICK AND TAKE THE ONE I WANT!” Michael yelled as his brother started to sprint upstairs with a rucksack over his shoulder. All he heard of Luci was a loud cackling laugh.

“What did I say about swearing Michael?” Chuck asked with a raised eyebrow as Cas dragged his case in and glanced between his father and brother with a frown.

“Not to do it- but Lucifer is gonna bagsy a room before I even get a chance to look and I’m the eldest and that’s not fair!” the eldest son replied, acting like he was the youngest instead and about to throw a tantrum

“That doesn’t give you a good enough reason to swear,” Castiel chipped in quietly from behind his father before looking around their new house in awe.

“What?!” Lucifer shouted pushing past Michael back to his dad. “bunk beds!? you want Han and Sammie to have the second biggest room?” 

“Nope its up to you who 's sharing but I have six kids and six rooms and I need one,” Chuck replied matter of factly with his arms folded.

“I’m not sharing with Sammie!” Hannah cried out from somewhere else before skipping through the doorway, “He can share with Gabe or Cas or something!”

“I’m not sharing with Gabe he’ll sit up all night eating sweets!” Samandriel yelled as he pulled his case up the stairs to the front door.

“Cas can share with Sam then, that’s-”

“How about Michael and Lucifer share a room so they can both have the second biggest bedroom,” Castiel suggested with a cheeky smile, much to the amusement of Lucifer who went ahead and jabbed Michael in the side playfully.

“I bagsy top!” he cheered before skipping back through to the room and dumping his things in there.  
Castiel watched as his brothers and sister made their way upstairs to pick out rooms before turning to his dad, “So I guess I get whichever room is left…”

“You do Cas, they’re all pretty big to be fair though so I don’t think there was any need for the rest of them to rush up… you need a hand getting your case up or are you okay?” his father asked, ruffling the boys hair and laughing a little as he got a playful punch in the ribs in response.

“Dad please stop.”

“No. Your hair’s always a mess anyway I don’t see why you care when I play with it.”

Cas just stuck his bottom lip out for a moment and stared up at his dad before dragging his case upstairs to go find his room and make it his own… He was actually looking forward to being somewhere new.. he wasn’t sure why but it just seemed like this whole moving thing was gonna be one big adventure now.

*

Cas couldn’t believe it, he hadn’t even been at school for a full day and already someone had him backed up against the wall and was bullying him.

“So you’re the new kid hm?” Jo asked with a smirk, shoving him back when he tried to get away and move past her. She gave Cas a good look over, he was small and had been singing annoyingly in the hallway so she figured picking on him was the best way to find out who he was.

“Y-yeah… as are my brothers…” he mumbled, staring down at the floor to avoid her intimidating gaze, Jo’s tactics were working and quite well too.

“I’d say you’re cute but you’re also kinda scrawny,” she teased in a not so nice manner, her finger jabbing at his chest before her head turned at the sound of someone calling her name.

“C’mon Jo! Do you really have to pick on the new kid and scare him?” Sam said as he got closer, giving her an exasperated look before turning to Cas in sympathy, “c’mon… you’re in my class right? Let’s get you away from my cousin here and somewhere else.” He signalled with his hand for Cas to come with him. The boy glanced at him nervously before stepping around Jo and following close at Sam’s heels.

“It um… nice meeting you…” Castiel mumbled, not really knowing while before looking away from her and whispering to Sam a quiet ‘thanks’. His hands were buried deep in his pockets and he stared down at his feet… no longer feeling like moving here was so much as an adventure as it as a horrible decision on his father’s part to move.

“Don’t mention it,” Sam replied with a shrug, “She just likes scaring people, she can be nice when she wants to be she just didn’t want to be today.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll keep that in mind, I’m Castiel by the way… I don’t think I got your name?”

“Sam, Winchester. It’s nice to meet you… I’m just gonna call you Cas I think.”

“Cas? That’s fine my brother’s do that anyway… and… Cassy but I don’t really like that…” he trailed off before pulling his collar up over the bottom half of his face and shoving his hands further down into his pockets. 

“You have brothers? I have just the one, he’s a bit of a pain in the ass.”

“Mine are all annoying… I have four brothers and a sister.”

“Oh so it’s a pretty full house then… say do you wanna hang out after school or anything to get away from them a bit? I imagine things are pretty hectic which you having just moved, right?” Sam said with a smile, stopping as they reached an empty corner of the yard, leaning up against the wall.

Cas had made up his mind that Sam was a nice guy pretty quickly… that and he’d decided he definitely wanted to try and be this boys friend for the foreseeable future while he lived here. He was still surprised by the taller boys offer though and was an open book with his little wide shocked eyes, Sam managed not to laugh.

“I uh, I… yeah that’d be cool actually… it’s been really busy and everyone’s running around trying to sort things out and arguing about rooms and… yeah…” Cas let out a heavy sigh before smiling at Sam very genuinely and warmly, “I ought to ask one of my brothers though first… I uh…” he glanced around to see who he could spot. Dad would kill him if he disappeared on the first day of school and didn’t tell anyone where he was going.

“Yeah of course, your family needs to know where you’re going,” Sam replied with a nod, vaguely remembering how his dad had used to get mad if him and Dean were out even a minute past curfew.

“Okay,” he said awkwardly, glancing around and trotting over to his brother Gabe who he’d spotted perched on a wall with a lollipop in hand. 

“Hey Gabe..”

“Cassy! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Gabe please… please don’t say pleasure like that… I uh… I’ve made a friend and he wants to hang out after school and I wanted to check with you if that’d be okay and stuff?” 

“Who? The tall one with the luscious locks over there who you were just with?” Gabriel asked with a raised eyebrow, his eyes very slowly running over Sam like he was undressing him in his mind before he answered Cas. “Okay, go ahead, just remember to use protection,” he said with a small wink, giving his lollipop one more lick before hopping down off the wall he was on and walking away.

Cas stood there for… well he wasn’t sure how long because he was trying to recover from blushing so hard at what his brother had just said… just suggested. He barely knew Sam he couldn’t… think about him like that… That was just… Too much for his innocent mind.

He snapped out of it when he felt a hand on his shoulder, “Everything okay there Cas?” Sam asked with a worried look on his face, the guy had been really out of it there for a few minutes just staring at nothing.

“Y-yeah my brother just… just embarrassed me…”


	2. He Can't Take My Candy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael finds a hot boy, Gabriel finds a hot boy and fights with Luci over him. And Cas meets Dean. Not quite in that order.
> 
> Basically : Everyone is falling for people at first sight and then arguing over it while Cas is just trying to make friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really can't think of a better way to summarise this chapter. I'm still in the stages of setting everything up for the rest of the story so just bear with me. I've had this edited a while but I'm trying to space things out plenty so as not to have to complete slow down with updates when I get back into the swing of college.

Cas quickly found Sam once classes were finished for the day, sidling up to him and tapping him on the shoulder gently.

“Ah Cas! I was wondering where you were… you ready to go then? My brother Dean is gonna take us home.”

“Yeah I’m ready to go,” he said with a small smile and a nod, glad he’d seemed to find a kind friend this quickly. He followed closely behind Sam as he started walking across the yard to the parking lot, having to be pulled out of the way by the taller boy because of seniors who hadn’t bothered to check the mirrors properly before reversing.

“So does your brother normally pick you up?” Cas asked, trying to make some conversation and not let it be one big awkward silence, that was the last thing he needed.

“Yeah, unless he has the day off or something, in which case he works in a garage so like if you or anyone in your family has car trouble you can always go there,” Sam said softly, scanning the parking lot for his brother’s car.

“Oh that’ll be him over there,” the tall boy said, grabbing Cas by the shoulder and leading him along, weaving in and out of other students and cars until they got to Dean’s, “HEY DEAN!” he shouted, leaning through the open window and trying to be heard over his brother’s music, “I’m bringing a friend over today, his name’s Cas. Be nice.”

“I’m always nice I don’t know what you’re saying,” Dean replied with a small smirk before glancing back at Castiel and giving him a small wave, turning the music down before saying, “Hi. Get in the back. Try and ignore the candy wrappers and shit that’s all Sammy’s.”

“Liar.”

“Don’t call me a liar Sammy.”

“Liar liar, pants on fire.”

Cas just watched the brother’s in slight amusement as he opened up one of the back doors and slid into a seat, kicking some of the trash to one side before buckling himself in.

“So Cas, you and Sammy just meet today?” Dean asked, giving him a small wink before looking past him as he reversed out of the space he’d pulled into. The boy just ducked a little embarrassedly, figuring that Dean was probably just winking to be funny or something.

“I uh yeah… my family just moved here.”

“Oh well that’s nice, I’m sure if there’s anywhere you wanna know about or go around town me and Sammy can help you… you got a big family?”

“Dean stop interrogating my friend.”

“I’m just being friendly Sam.”

“Yeah well you can stop.”

“What and be quiet for the rest of the ride? Sam don’t you understand that awkward silences ruin friendships?”

“So do annoying big brothers,” the younger boy snapped back.

“If you don’t want me to talk then…” Dean trailed off with a stupid grin spread over his face as he turned ACDC up as loud as possible and practically yelled the lyrics out the window as he drove them back home.

*

“So you let Cas go without asking where?” Michael tutted, “Dad won’t be happy, might take your candy.” The eldest of the Shurley children towered over his shortest brother with a smirk on his face - granted this should be a serious situation, the fact that they didn’t know where Cas was - it was amusing to watch Gabriel react.

Gabriel panicked, “What? No, he can't, his friend Sam was hot, I was distracted, logical thought was not even a remote possibility at the time!"

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Michael said, waving his hand dismissively, “It’s all your fault if something happens.”

“Come on Cas’ll be back before curfew… and anyway. Maybe I got him laid.”

“Cas? Please. He’s far too innocent for that.”

Next thing they knew Hannah had come in having only heard half of the conversation, “What’ve you done?” she asked with her arms folded in a disapproving manner.

“Oh come on… All I did was let Cas go hang out with this really tall hot guy after school, okay? Everything is gonna be fiiiiiiine.”

“He might not be that tall you’re just short as fuck,” Hannah replied flippantly, “Anyway, if he’s that hot why didn’t you go hang out with him? Or is it too much effort when you need a stepladder with you to kiss anyone and it sort of ruins the surprise of it.”

“DAAAAAAAAAAAD!” Gabriel yelled, earning a very distant and tired ‘yes’ from Chuck. “HANNAH’S BEING MEAN TO ME ABOUT MY HEIGHT AGAIN.”

“YEAH BUT I DIDN’T LET MY BROTHER DISAPPEAR WITHOUT ASKING WHERE HE WAS GOING!”

There was the sound of a door slamming open and then heavy footsteps coming through the house before Chuck appeared in the room with his most unamused expression spread over his face.

“What’s happened?” the three of them all started talking over each other before Michael yelled at them to shut up.

“Okay… right… you pair stay quiet,” he said, pointing at his brother and sister before turning to their dad, “Cas asked Gabriel if he could go to this dudes house, and Gabriel said yeah without even asking where the dude lived. Then Gabriel came home and told me about it and was drooling over the hot guy Cas is currently with before Hannah came in and made fun of Gabe, telling him he’d need a step ladder to kiss the guy,” the eldest brother explained before folding his arms and turning to his siblings to see if they would argue.

“Right. Gabriel. If Cas isn’t back by curfew, you are going out to find him on your own. And until he’s back you aren’t getting any sweets.” Chuck’s firm response earned nothing but a pathetic whimper from Gabriel who hung his head and stared down at the floor, looking like a hurt puppy.

Just then the doorbell rang and everyone’s heads turned. Michael was the first to the door, opening it quickly and opening his mouth to speak when he clapped eyes on the guy stood with Castiel and found himself suddenly at a loss for words. Gabriel was the next one to appear, frowning a little as he saw Dean there with his brother.

“This is not the guy I sent my little brother home with…” he muttered, glancing past them and seeing Sam sat in the car that was parked at the end of their driveway.

“I’m Sammy’s brother. He asked me to come drop Cas back off home and I told him to stay in the car for now since I left the windows down… you guys are?” he asked, holding his hand out for at least one of them to shake- Gabe took the opportunity since Michael was still stood there staring blankly outside at a loss for words.

“I’m Gabriel, this is Michael, our dad and sister are just through there and I have no idea where our other brothers are.”

“Okay. Awesome. Well it was nice meeting you. I’ll see you around I guess Cas,” Dean said with a small shrug, patting the boy on the shoulder before turning around and walking back to the car.

Once Dean was well out of earshot Michael turned to Gabriel and muttered, “His brother’s hot.”

“NONE OF MY CHILDREN ARE STRAIGHT!” Chuck cried out, covering his face with his hands for a moment before Hannah chirped up.

“I’m pretty sure Sammie has never kissed a dude.”

“Speaking of Sammie… where is he?” Gabriel asked with a very large frown, his younger sibling was usually to be found trailing after Hannah whenever the twins were at home so it was odd for him to not have appeared sooner to stand there and laugh as she bullied him about his height.

“He brought some friend home and they’re up in his room,” Chuck replied casually waving his hand as he started to retreat back to his office, hoping to get some more writing done.

“Sammie has a friend around?” Hannah said with a raised eyebrow, looking at her three brothers and knowing what well- at least two of them were thinking, “I knew something fishy was going on today with this family I just couldn’t work out what… c’mon… let’s go see who it is.”

All four siblings rushed up the stairs and piled into Samandriel’s room with literally zero warning to find him sat on the floor painting some girl’s nails.

“On second thoughts I’m pretty sure Sammie hasn’t kissed a girl either,” Hannah muttered in reference to what she’d said earlier about her twin.

“Definitely not as many as you have Hannah,” Gabriel replied with a small giggle before getting down on the floor beside his very bemused looked brother and the girl they had yet to be properly introduced to, “Sammie… you’re actually doing a real good job there… Hi,” he raised his eyes to meet the girls. She simply just cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows a little in response.

“I’m Gabriel, his slightly older, hotter, brother, and you are?”

“Ruby,” she said, smirking a little now before looking back at Samandriel, “Are you done with my nails yet, I want to have a go at doing yours!”  
“Are we sure he’s straight?” Michael asked from the doorway, blinking a little disbelievingly at what he was seeing in front of him.

Before anyone could answer Lucifer finally made his appearance, “Hey! Are we having a party in here? By the way I just saw this really hot guy sat in a car outside while some other dude that was driving him was at our door, what was that about?”

“Did you just stare at him out the window?” Castiel asked with a frown, “That was Sam… He’s my friend… please don’t stalk him.”

“He’s pretty hot, isn’t he?” Gabe replied.

“Where do I get his number?” Luci asked, ignoring Gabriel and instead looking over at Castiel who just cringed and let out a few small whines as his older brother began badgering him for information.

“He’s mine…” Gabriel muttered with a pout.

“NO! MINE!” Lucifer insisted, taking a step towards Gabriel now and actually paying attention to him onceh e realised they were both after the same guy and there was no way he was letting the little sixteen and a half year old beat him for the beautiful boy he’d seen earlier.

“Hey, wait a moment guys… didn’t you like make a pact a while back that if you both saw a hot guy and wanted him whoever saw him first got to keep him?” Hannah asked with raised eyebrows before going over and sitting beside Sammie and Ruby on the floor, “So what brand is this I really like the colour…” she said, trailing off into a conversation with the two.

“Yeah we did!” Gabe cried out before grinning, ignoring Hannah totally by this point and instead turning on Luci with a triumphant grin spread over his features, “I SAW HIM EARLIER ON TODAY IN SCHOOL AND YOU DIDN’T SO HAHA HE’S MINE!”

*

“You get that kid home okay?” Bobby asked when he saw Dean and Sam come in.

“Yeah, he got home fine, apparently his dad was worrying a bit but now everything is okay… what’s for dinner?” Dean asked, coming into the kitchen and grinning over at his uncle-come-surrogate-father.

“I think Crowley is making us some burgers for once instead of his stupid British food he’s always trying to cook us,” Bobby replied although there was a fond hint to his voice as he glanced at his husband before turning back to the boys, “Wipe your shoes, I only mopped this room earlier.”

“Don’t call it stupid darling, you love my cooking really,” Crowley murmured softly as he came into the room and pressed a kiss to Bobby’s cheek.

“Ew, no, guys, save it for later when I’m not here,” Dean groaned, covering his eyes and pulling a face.

“Just because you have nobody and you’re jealous,” Crowley replied, wrapping his arms around Bobby and resting his chin on his shoulder.

“Please… just.. no…” Dean grumbled, turning around and walking out the kitchen and upstairs.

“You always know how to get rid of him,” Bobby said with a chuckle, pressing a small kiss to the top of his husband’s head.

“That’s because it’s just so easy.”


	3. For the first time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabe and Balthazar, previously long-distance internet best friends, finally get to meet in real life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would make this chapter longer but I'm posting it sooner than I intended anyway because SOMEONE told people I was updating today.

Gabe stood outside Balthazar’s house, the picture and address clutched in his hand that the guy had sent to him, he swallowed hard, shaking with excitement as he made his way up the steps. Gabe took a moment to quickly check his reflection in his phone screen before reaching up and ringing the doorbell. It was a few, agonizing minutes as he waited for an answer but finally Balthazar came to the door in a pair of very loose sweatpants and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

“G-” he pulled his toothbrush out of his mouth to speak properly, “Gabe?” he asked excitedly now he could talk properly despite the toothpaste in his mouth.   
  
“Balthy!”   
  
“Gabe?”   
  
“YES IT’S ME!” the young boy cried out before flinging himself at Balthazar who managed to take the boy’s sudden weight hitting him without falling over. He smiled in amusement down at the top of his head which was about all he could see as the buried his face in his chest and clung to him.   
  
“You okay there little buddy?” he eventually asked, patting Gabe’s back gently before ruffling his hair and laughing a little as he pulled back and looked up at him.   
  
“You go toothpaste all over your mouth.”   
  
“Yeah, I know,” Balth muttered with a roll of his eyes before wiping it away with a tissue from his pocket while Gabriel just stared at him in amazement.   
  
“I CAN TOUCH YOU!,” he cried out after a few more seconds of staring, reaching up and booping him on the nose before returning to his clinging, just so overjoyed to be seeing his friend in person for the first time, “And I’m great by the way.”   
  
“That’s good to hear… will you let go of me so we can go inside and I can make some coffee or something?”   
  
“Or something?”   
  
“Well normally I make my visitors alcoholic beverages but you’re kind of too young…” Balth drawled in a sarcastic manner before laughing as Gabriel pulled faces up at him.   
  
“YOU’RE NOT OLD ENOUGH EITHER.”

“Shh, nobody cares cos I’m over eighteen. I’m kind of an adult.”

“We’re not in Europe you idiot.”   
  
“Ah the motherland how I miss it,” Balthazar replied sarcastically in an over-emphasised British accent, “Seriously though, sometimes I go over there and stay with my grandparents for a week or so and I get blathered.”   
  
“Blathered?”   
  
“Drunk. Very drunk.”

“Why did you say blathered then?”   
  
“Because the British have so many words for it.”   
  
“What do you mean? Why have so many words?”   
  
“Because we can,” Balthazar replied firmly before just picking Gabe up in his refusal to let go and carrying him inside, much to the short boy’s delight. His smile soon dropped as he was put down and no more than two seconds later a very bedraggled looking girl came stumbling down the stairs, pushing her dark hair out of her face, instead he just glared at her.   
  
“Morning Meg,” Balthazar said with a small grin before noticing her starting to slip her shoes on, “leaving so soon?”

“Yeah. Last night was fun. Now I’ve gotta go shower before I get a booty call off Ruby or something…”   
  
“You and her still…”   
  
“Yeah, quite a lot at the moment. I think she’s just really horny constantly... “   
  
“Damn I shouldn’t have broken up with her…”   
  
“Yeah well… you’ve got that little boy toy to keep you company now, see ya later,” she said, blowing him a kiss before letting herself out.   
  
Gabe made an indignant face at being called boy toy although then again he kind of liked the idea of being Balthy’s  _ toy _ … However Balthazar just rolled his eyes once the girl had left and went back to making coffee, “You probably should’ve given me a call or something before you came over so like… You could come at a better time since first impressions are important… not that I’m not glad to see you, it’s great to finally see you in person and get a great big hug,” the older boy said with a small chuckle, “So how long have you been in town now?”   
  
“Like a week or so… so not long. We’re unpacking everything and the house is pretty hectic and stuff. Can I like permanently be called your boy toy?”

“No.”

“But Balthy.”   
  
“No. You are a child. Poor innocent cinnamon roll. Too innocent for this world.”

“But Balth I’m not-”   
  
“TOO INNOCENT!” Balthazar cried out, wrapping his arms around Gabe and pulling him into a hug, running his hands through his hair so it was messed up. Gabe just pushed the older, laughing boy away and tried to flatten his hair again, failing to get it quite as neat as it was before and settling on pouting at Balthazar for being so cruel to him… maybe the silent treatment along with the pouting would get him another hug, it was worth a try.   
  
“Wassup? Did I mess up your pretty hair?” Balth asked a little mockingly before Gabe rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder, only to get more laughter in response instead of the ‘ow’ he’d hoped for… so he punched him again, this time harder.

“ABUSE!” Balthazar cried out before poking Gabe back, “why are you hitting meeeee? What have I done? Why do you hate me when I show you nothing but love?” The stupid, whining questions continued as Gabe remained silent, his arms folded as he tried not to smile or laugh or anything as the other guy grew more and more ridiculous.   
  
“Oh I see how it is. I’m getting the silent treatment. Well I’m pretty sure I know how to sort that out.”

Gabe raised his eyebrow and then let out a small yelp as he was picked up and thrown over Balthazar’s shoulder, he kind of stared at the floor in wide eyed shock for the time he spent hanging there before being dumped on the sofa. At which point Gabriel’s eyebrows rose even higher up his forehead if that were possible.   
  
“I’ll be back in a moment with the perfect thing.”

For those moments between Balth leaving the room and returning, Gabe’s imagination ran wild as he tried to gauge exactly where their friendship was at this point and _what exactly_ Balth could be referring to.

His wondering came to an end when he returned with  _ something _ behind his back, Gabe opened his mouth to say  _ ‘come on, lemme see it’  _ and then closed it again before he spoke, realising he was still giving him the silent treatment.

Balthazar just stood over him for a moment with a smirk on his face before bringing the bag around and throwing the whole selection of sweets on Gabe, “I got you some stuff from my candy stash, will you talk to me again?”   
  
“YES!” Gabe yelled out, already unwrapping some of the candy and stuffing it into his mouth eagerly as Balth started laughing and sat down on the arm of the sofa.

“That’s my boy,” he said jokingly, reaching out and messing up his hair even more again… only to find himself being ignored since the candy was clearly so much more important to him, “You know all those virtual cookies I kept pretending to send you when you were sad?”   
  
“Mhm?” he replied through a mouth full of sweets.   
  
“We’re gonna bake them all one day, okay?”   
  
**_“YESS_ ** .”

“I thought you’d like that.”   
  
“OF COURSE I WOULD LIKE THAT! WHO WOULDN’T LIKE THAT? SUCKY PEOPLE WOULDN’T LIKE THAT, THAT’S WHO! YOU ARE THE BESSSSSSSSSST CAN WE BE BFF’S FOR LIFE NOW?”

“Yeah sure kid.”   
  
“Don’t call me kid,” Gabe said with a small pout, “I’m sixteen and a half! I’m not a child anymore!”

“You’re a kid. Shush.”   
  
“Where are you parents?”   
  
“They’re gone…”   
  
“Where?”   
  
“Somewhere. Who knows? Might be close to the arctic? Fuck knows why they like cruises so much, my great grandparents died on the titanic.”

“Th-they what? I’m guessing you don’t like the film then…”   
  
“Nope. Not one bit, never watched it either though to be honest and Celine Dion can KISS MY ASS,” Balthazar replied, sliding onto the sofa as Gabe stood up for a second to get more sweets.   
  
“MY SPOT!” Gabe yelled out before lying back down across Balthy’s legs and starting to giggle… only to then start choking on the lollipop he’d just started eating.   
  
“You are such an idiot it’s adorable,” the other said, grabbing the stick and pulling it out as Gabe just lay there coughing for a minute before snatching it back and popping it into his mouth.   
  
“I’m not adorable,” he mumbled, “And I’m not an idiot either, I think you’ll find  _ you _ are the idiot.”


	4. Boy meets boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel decides to formally introduce himself to Sam and get to know him. Obviously this is something that has to end well... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would be longer but I'm actually quite ill right now and didn't feel like adding any more to the chapter would be beneficial in any way (also I slept for like thirteen hours straight and I'm still tired). Sorry if there's the odd typo or grammatical error. I've also just had an energy drink and done what editing I can so I'm not just throwing a piece of trash at y'all for the sake of it.

Sam was just sat in the library, minding his own business and trying to get his homework done when a  _ certain  _ smart ass decided to come over, point at the maths textbook he was using and say, “The answer is 1-207-422-5968.”   
  
Sam paused a moment before looking up at the guy with a raised eyebrow and somewhat of a bemused face, recognising him as Cas’ brother before asking, “Did you just try and give me your phone number?”

Gabe paused a moment- not expecting that reaction before he just grinned again and held out his hand, “Hi, I’m Gabe.”   
  
“I know who you are doofus.”

“Oh? What else do you know about me?”   
  
Sam scoffed a little as Gabriel winked suggestively at him. “Nothing really, Cas didn’t sit and tell me every tiny detail he could about his brothers.”   
  
“Awh, that sucks,” Gabe said with a pout before pulling out a chair and sitting beside Sam, his arms crossed on the desk as he rested his head on top of them and watched the boy trying to concentrate on his work.   
  
“So, what’re you doing there Sammy?”   
  
“Don’t call me Sammy.”   
  
“Sam then,” he replied still pouting, noticing a small smile spread over Sam’s face when he glanced at him for a moment and then quickly away again; he’d take that as a good sign, smiling was usually a good sign as long as the person you were talking to wasn’t a serial killer and or holding a knife… right?   
  
“I’m doing my homework… what’re you doing?” Sam replied a little defeatedly, finally looking up at Gabriel for more than a few seconds, unable to suppress the smile on his face. Despite how much he wanted to get his homework done, Gabriel’s flirting and chatting was kinda cute.   
  
“Just trying to get to know the cutest guy in school.”

Sam rolled his eyes but had to give it to him,  _ that  _ had been just a bit smooth.    
“Well this homework is pretty important and I need to get it done…” he replied, shrugging and trying to ignore Gabe.   
  
“Lemme have a look at it.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“Let me have a look,” Gabe said slowly this time, already pulling Sam’s books around to look at them. “Okay so,” he took the boy’s pen, “The answers are this, this, this, and…. this,” he said, scribbling them down very quickly before passing the things back, “There we go, now you can go back to talking to me.”   
  
Sam opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking rather like a stunned goldfish as he tried to work out what to say- wanting to tell Gabriel off for doing his homework and not letting him do it but at the same time surprised that the guy was showing any interest in him. Most of the time he just got labelled as a nerd or something and ignored.   
  
“Cat got your tongue?” Gabe asked before pulling a packet of candy from his bag and offering it to Sam, “Want some?”   
  
“Why do you have so much candy with you?”   
  
“Well I can’t be the only sweetness in my life, can I?”

“I-I suppose not…” Sam stuttered, blushing a little and shaking his head before just grabbing a lollipop from the bag, unwrapping it and popping it in his mouth.   
  
“So Sammy, you and Cassy get up to much?”   
  
“We watched some tv and hung out with my brother, it was pretty chill, why do you care?” Sam asked with a frown, trying to read Gabriel and coming up with very little from the boy’s very confident exterior.   
  
“Just curious. How come you didn’t walk my little brother to the door?”   
  
“I don’t know it just made sense at the time,” he said with a shrug.

“Okaaaay then,” Gabe replied with a frown before shaking his head a little and opening his mouth to speak again when Sam just went ahead and pulled a book out to start reading without warning. ‘ _ A little rude _ ’ Gabe thought to himself before ignoring it, figuring he’d been the one to interrupt Sam doing his homework and couldn’t really talk at all.

“What’cha reading?” he asked, leaning over so his face was hovering just behind the cover of the book, a snigger escaping him as Sam looked at him and rolled his eyes.   
  
“It’s just a book, why do you want to know?”    
  
“Becaaaaaaause,” Gabe replied, practically lying on the table at this point before bothering to read the cover, “Wait- HOLY SHIT! This is one of my dad’s books!”   
  
“What? But your dad’s name is Chuck Shurley...”   
  
“My dad is Chuck Shurley  _ well done  _ Sam-  **well…** he writes under  the name ‘Carver Edlund’ but that’s definitely him.”   
  
“Are you pulling my fucking leg Gabe?” Sam wasn’t sure whether to believe him with all the flirting and stuff, it could just be a ploy to get Sam to come over and spend time with him - still. Why would Gabriel lie about something like this when he clearly had an interest in Sam and such a lie  _ would _ come undone very quickly.   
  
“No.”   
  
“My favourite author is  _ your dad _ ?”   
  
“If your favourite author is Carver Edlund AKA Chuck Shurley AKA my dad, then yes.” 

“I  _ need  _ to meet him.”

“Come hang out at my place after school then,” Gabe replied with a wink before blowing a kiss towards the boy.

“Will he be in?”   
  
“Maybe not but I know where the key to his office is so you can take a sneaky peek at some of his notes if you like,” Gabriel said, sitting up now with a smal grin spread over his expression, Sam was clearly going for the carrot he was dangling and this was probably the best opportunity he was going to have to make a good impression on the boy.   
  
“I’m not sure he’d want me looking at his notes,” Same replied, his body language very suddenly tense as he wondered what kind of trouble he might get in with Carve- Chuck. Then again if it was Gabriel letting him see the stuff, surely it was Gabriel who should get in trouble?   
  
“It’s not like he has to knoooooooow.”

“O-okay then…” Sam whispered, smiling a little nervously, “Are you sure I won’t like… get in trouble?” he asked, just wanting to make sure while he sat beside the boy, his heart beat definitely going a little quicker at the thought of doing something that could technically probably be illegal...   
  
“Nah, if anyone gets in trouble it’s me. And that literally means getting sighed at and probably ignored for five minutes.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“Dad’s too much of a softy to yell at us… most of the time…”

“Uh… okay…” Sam replied, knowing his dad wouldn’t have ever let him get away with anything with just a roll of his eyes or a sigh.   
  
“Soooo… meet me at the gates after school?”   
  
Sam chewed his lip for a second as Gabriel stared at him expectantly with the cutest, most innocent little smile of his face while he waited for Sam’s response. 

“Sure.”

 

*

 

“Wooow…” Sam whispered as Gabriel opened up the the office before holding his breath as he stepped inside- this was like stepping into some kind of aladdin's cave… “So this is where he does all his writing?” he whispered, walking over to the desk and stepping over a couple of boxes before he ran his fingers over some of the notebooks lying sprawled everywhere, “Does he type his notes or does he hand write everything first?”   
  
“I think he’s working in that blue notebook in front of you at the moment,” the older boy said, closing the door gently behind it with small grin; leaning against it for a few moments he watched Sam look around the desk before walking over to him and standing just a little close for comfort.    
  
“It’s that one  _ right  _ there _ , _ ” he said, reaching around the boy and tapping the cover of the journal, laughing a little as Sam nervously shuffled away from him.

“So how long have you been reading dad’s books?”   
  
“Um… I don’t really know I just picked one up one day and I’ve been reading as many of them as I can ever since… they’re like my favourite things…”   
  
“I gathered that from how much you were fangirling earlier,” Gabriel replied with a small roll of his eyes, “So Sam. Ever think you’d be all alone in your favourite author’s study with the cutest boy in school?” he asked, watching Sam flicking through the notebook before he just hummed quietly, vaguely acknowledging that Gabriel had said  _ something _ .

“Wow… I can’t… no I can’t believe your dad would  _ do _ that in the next book but it’s… it’s freakin’ perfect,” Sam whispered, dumping his butt into Chuck’s chair and continuing to pour over his notes.

_ Earth to Sam _ , Gabe thought to himself before perching on the edge of his dad’s desk, pushing some sheets of paper and books out of the way, “You’re really into his books huh?”   
  
“Yeah I am,” Sam mumbled, glancing up for just a second.   
  
“You really into anything else?”   
  
“Yeah,” Sam muttered, barely even listening.   
  
“You into dick?” Gabriel asked, to see if he could get Sams’ attention away from the notebook  _ at all _ .

Once it actually registered in his head what Gabriel had just said, Same started to choke on his words and blush dark, “W-what kind of fucking question is that?”

“I was seeing if you were actually listening to me or not.”   
  
“Of course I was listening,” Sam spluttered, even though he hadn’t been, this was the most exciting thing he’d ever done or read or anything and Gabriel’s presence and words had been only on the sidelines of his mind. 

“No you weren’t liar.”   
  
“Yes I was.”   
  
“Your pants should be on fire for that one…”   
  
“Shut up.”   
  
“Preferably not on you while they’re on fire. Possibly in the back garden or something while you have to just sit around without them on.”   
  
“What the fuck Gabe?”

  
“What?” 


	5. Enter Charlie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie comes to stay with her brother Balthazar and ends up on an unexpected date with none other than his ex girlfriend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG since someone has decided they want me to update every week :P

Charlie waved at her parents as they drove away, not really looking back at her as she walked up to her brother's front door, a wide grin on her face, “This is gonna be so great!” she whispered, walking up to the door and giving it a quick knock before shifting her grip a little on the case in her hands, waiting eagerly for an answer at the door…. It took about ten minutes but then he did turn up, opening the door looking bedraggled in his boxers and his cute mess of hair.   
  
“Awh did I wake you up?” Charlie teased, reaching out and tickling her brother’s exposed ribs only for him to start laughing and leap back from her with his fingers forming a crucifix to  _ keep her away _ .   
  
“CHARLIE! Was I supposed to know you were coming over?” he asked, backing away further and eventually reaching behind himself to see if he’d left a coat or something on the stair bannister to wrap himself up in.   
  
“Yes we rung up the other night and you said you’d love it if I came to stay with you for a while,” the girl replied with a small snort as he screwed up his face trying to remember.   
  
“I… I don’t remember that I was probably drunk… but it would be cool to have you staying here anyway so come on just DON’T TICKLE ME AGAIN!” He brought his arms up and around his ribs protectively with one arm through a jacket he’d laid his hands on.

“Okay,” Charlie replied with a small pout before putting her case down and flinging herself at Balthazar to hug him, “I’ve missed you so much bro! Why did you never come visit like it’s been so lonely without you and everything to gossip to and talk with.”   
  
“I have my own house and shit now Charlie… I’m sorry and you were on a cruise with the Parents, okay?”

“YOU BETTER BE!” She replied, her face buried in her brother’s shoulder as she squeezed him tighter, eventually pulling back and looking up at him, “Will you be kind enough to carry my case up to my room?”   
  
“Okay,” he said with a chuckle “You’re too cute to say no to anyway.”

“Awh thanks bro, you know I think you call me cute more often than girls do and that’s kind of nice but worrying at the same time.”

“Yeah but… I call you cute in a non-incestual sibling way… Plus I’m not a chick and I’m not a lesbian.. And that’s kinda what you want right?”

“Not specifically lesbians just chicks who will sleep with other girls and maybe be nice enough to date them too!”   
  
“Well I kind of don’t fall into either of those categories,” Balthazar replied with a small wink as he dragged her case up the stairs, “The bed will need making in the spare room since nobody has stayed there in a while… There should be some clean covers in the bottom of the wardrobe.”   


  
  
*

  
  
“So Charlie,” Balthy said, sidling up to her in the kitchen as she made herself some coffee, “You met any nice girls yet?”   
  
“Well… if you mean  _ actually  _ nice girls, then yeah, tonnes but.. if you mean nice girls who are interested in me then no.”   
  
“Well I have this ex who I’m on good terms with who’s sorta into chicks and well I think you guys would be cute together.”   
  
“ _ Sorta  _ into chicks?”   
  
“She fucked a girl when she was drunk and we decided it would be best if we broke up. I don't know the ins and outs of her sexuality okay sis? I know she has a thing going on with this other girl called Meg but Meg is sleeping with me too at the moment so I think it’s open if it’s anything.”

“That's good enough for me if you want to set us up for a date by all means do it,” Charlie said with a shrug, “It's been way too long since I went out with anyone anywhere anyway…”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

 

*

  
  
“SO RUBY!” Balthazar yelled down the phone as the girl answered, completely used to the guy’s loudness when greeting just about anyone over the phone; and also recognising that particular note of excitement in his voice. She spent a second trying to decide whether or not he might be high before just responding verbally.   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO DATE SOMEONE WHO’S REALLY HOT?”

_ High _ , she decided before answering him in a deadpan voice, “Look Balthazar, it didn’t work out between us last time it’s not going to now.”   
  
“No I’m not talking about me- but yes I am hot… anyway… I’m talking about my sister,” Balthazar replied very hurriedly before Ruby has a chance to just hang up and ignore him forever. He was going to try his hardest to get his sister a date and Ruby was honestly his best hope right now because he was not comfortable with the idea of her fucking Meg while they lived in the same house… And Meg wasn’t exactly the relationship type anyway.   
  
“You have a sister?” Ruby replied after a few long seconds.   
  
“Yes. I have a sister.”   
  
“And you said she’s hot.”   
  
“Cos she is hot.”   
  
“That’s kind of weird-”   
  
“I can say that someone is aesthetically pleasing without wanting to bang them okay Ruby?”   
  
“I suppose you can.”   
  
“I definitely can there’s no supposing about it Ruby. Now then. Are you interested in going on a date with my sister or not? Because otherwise I’m going to have to continue on my quest to find a date for her.”   
  
Ruby fell silent for a few, long minutes as she mulled over the idea in her head… she liked her arrangement with Meg, but Meg didn’t do dates… Meg didn’t do much other than booty calls and drinking. So a date would be nice. “Um… I guess I’ll give it a go.”   
  
“Okay. Be at mine at seven tonight,” Balthazar replied, hanging up before she had a chance to change her mind. Now to set everything up.

  
  
*

 

Balthazar let out a heavy sigh as he stood in his room, pulling on a black shirt and staring at himself in the mirror as he buttoned it up, “You are gonna be the hottest waiter in the whole entire world,” he muttered to himself, finishing with the buttons and staring at himself before muttering, “Ah… I need trousers.”

Once he was dressed and beginning to put on his tie, the doorbell rang and so he just threw the thing on the bed instead and ran down to answer it, “HI RUBY!” he cried out as he opened it. The girl just stood their with eyebrows raised, glancing over his appearance before leaning to the side as if to look behind him.   
  
“Oh. Yeah. Charlie… CHARLIE!” he yelled upstairs, waiting a few seconds before he heard her footsteps pounding on the carpet as she ran down the stairs.   
  
“Yeah bro,” she called as she got to the bottom of the stairs, getting up on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder, “Oh… hey…”

Balthazar stepped to one side and allowed the girls to just stare at each other for a moment or two before he cleared his throat, “Charlie… meet Ruby, Ruby this is my sister Charlie… and uh… I will be your waiter for tonight.”   
  
Ruby stretched out her hand and took Charlie’s to shake it and then press a kiss to the back of it before stepping inside. Eventually she tore her eyes away from the beautiful goddess in front of her to address and question Balthazar, “Balth. What do you mean  _ our waiter _ ?”   
  
“I’ve cooked you two dinner and everything.”

“I’m impressed,” Ruby replied before Charlie just turned and stared at her brother with big eyes.   
  
“BRO YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO.”   
  
“You’re my little sister of course I fucking had to.

“I’M WEARING SWEATPANTS I NEED TO GO CHANGE.”

“No you don’t,” Ruby replied a little dismissively before grabbing Charlie’s wrist in a gentle but firm grip as the girl turned towards the stairs, “You look wonderful as you are. Now why don’t we go see whatever this is that Balthazar has set up for us?”

 

*

  
  
Charlie was blushing. She had been blushing ever since she met Ruby at the front door and now they were sat down, Balthazar was serving them wine and whatever was in the oven smelt gorgeous. Ruby on the other hand was actually… pleasantly surprised that this hadn’t been some trick from Balthazar to try and get her back. 

“So, Charlie, when did you move in with Balthazar?” Ruby asked, deciding to treat Balthazar like he wasn’t actually there as he fussed over setting out cutlery and checking on the food.   
  
“Um… just… yesterday…” she whispered in a rather high, squeaky voice before choking a little as she tried to work out what to say to this beautiful girl on the other side of the table. 

_ ‘She’s adorable,’  _ Ruby thought to herself, her smile growing as Charlie tucked some hair behind her ear and giggled nervously.

It was so long since Charlie had even been on anything remotely like a date that she couldn’t remember how to act or talk or anything…  _ and Ruby was just so nice _ . Ruby seemed perfect for her and OH GOD she did not want to fuck this thing up.

“Just yesterday and Balthazar organised a date for you, what a great big brother,” Ruby said, glancing at the guy and giving him a wink as he poured her some more wine.

“You’re both welcome,” Balth replied before running away to another room because he needed a fucking break and the food still had twenty minutes left to cook and he felt far more awkward than he’d ever anticipated waiting on his own sister and Ex during a date that  _ he  _ had arranged. Yes he was incredibly glad that it was going so swimmingly and that Ruby and Charlie seemed to like each other so much.

“Where do you think he went?” Ruby asked, watching the man disappear out of the door with a smirk on her lips.   
  
“I dunno… he’s probably not been on his feet for so long in a while. He mostly sits in his underwear all day and fucks people,” Charlie said with a chuckle before shivering and sitting upright when she felt Ruby trailing a foot up her leg.

“CHARLIE STOP TELLING EVERYONE MY SECRETS!” Balthazar yelled through as he lay sprawled out on the sofa.   
  
“Not like I didn’t already know,” Ruby muttered under her breath before raising her eyebrows in a suggestive way at Charlie who just burst out giggling and nearly fell out of her chair.

“You are adorable, I could just kiss you,” Ruby said with a small giggle of her own, the laughter from Charlie infectious.   
  
“Maybe later,” Charlie whispered, hanging onto the table so she didn’t fall onto the floor from laughing.   
  
“Will you promise me that

“Pinky promise!” Charlie said before reaching out over the table, still doubled over from laughing and the aching in her gut as she tried to breathe normally.

 

*

  
  
“So… tell me about yourself Charlie.”   
  
“Um…”   
  
“What’re your hobbies?”

“I like LARPing, cosplay, comic books…” Charlie trailed off as she realised what a fucking nerd she sounded like, yet Ruby continued to smile, her eyes alive with interest as she listened and encouraged her to continue talking.

“What comics do you read?” Ruby asked with her chin resting on her hand as Charlie sat there silently trying to work out why this girl was so very interested in actually listening to her babble. Ruby just thought how cute it was.

“Marvel!” Charlie squeaked before covering her mouth, not having realised how high pitched her voice was about to come out.

“Be more specific!”

“Um… I like Deadpool… X-Men… Are you really interested?”   
  
“Of course I am, why else would I ask?”

“Not… people.... aren’t usually interested…”

 

*

 

Charlie waved after Ruby as the girl left to go home… Once she was gone she turned to her brother and gave him the tightest hug in the entire universe, “YOU ARE THE BEST BROTHER EVER OH MY GOODNESS BALTHAZAR THAT WAS AMAZING.”   
  
“I am never being a waiter…” he muttered, patting his sister’s back and resting his head on top of hers. “You’re welcome though sis.” She just made quiet squeaking noises and buried her face in his chest.   
  
“Can you let go of me now so I can go take my pants off?”

“No,” Came the girl’s muffled reply as she just squeezed him tighter.   
  
“I get it, you’re grateful, but I really need these things off, my legs are much warmer than they’re used to being.”

  
“You suck.”   
  
“I’m fully aware,” Balthazar replied as his sister let go and he immediately started unbuttoning his pants right there.   
  
“OH GOD NO DO NOT STRIP IN FRONT ME I DO NOT NEED THAT IMAGE BURNED INTO MY BRAIN.”   
  
“I walk around in my underwear all the time, what is the problem.”   
  
Charlie just shook her head and ran off.


	6. Gabe Tries for Sam Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gabriel goes about everything the wrong way in yet another attempt to win Sam over and get to know him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember if I went through this and edited it and college has been busy and stuff and I'm very sorry for not getting to this chapter sooner.

“But Gabe… why exactly are you walking me to Sam’s house?”   
  
“Because I felt like it…” he said with a small shrug and a grin, unable to really hide his intentions much. His last two attempts with Sam had not gone too well but this time he was gonna try even harder and at least try and come away with a date arranged… or his phone number… or just some way of arranging a date… or something.   
  
“Sure you did,” Cas replied with his eyes narrowed a little, “Why really?”   
  
“I want to see Sam.”   
  
“Oh.”   
  
“What do you mean ‘ _ oh’ _ Cas?”

“Why are you so interested in him?”   
  
“Cos he’s a cutiepatootie!”

“Whatever… you do realise that  _ I  _ am going over to hang out with him and  _ you  _ are not even invited, right?”   
  
“Yeah I know.”   
  
“Then why are you still coming along?”   
  
“Well if I don’t try then I’ll achieve anything.”   
  
“I suppose that’s one way to get through life…” Cas muttered, trailing off and shaking his head a little.

 

*

 

When they reached Sam’s house they were greeted by a very sleepy, confused looking Dean there in his underwear.   
  
“Since when were you coming over?” he asked, rubbing at his face as Cas started to blush darker and darker as his eyes tried to avoid the guys mostly-naked body.

“Sam invited Cas over and I tagged along. You might wanna go and cover up a little- not that I’m really complaining about the view but I think Cassy here is a little uncomfortable,” Gabe said, elbowing his brother not-so-gently in the side before stepping into the house and laughing as Dean rolled his eyes.   
  
“Where’s Sam?” Castiel asked, having chosen just to let his gaze rest on the ceiling of the entrance.   
  
“He’s just brushing his teeth I think,” Dean replied with a shrug, “You gonna come inside or not Cas?” he asked, earning an even darker blush from Cas who very quickly shuffled through into the house with his eyes on the floor now instead as he sidled up to his brother.

“Gabe why are you still here?” Cas hissed quietly, jabbing him in the ribs and laughing a little as the older brother yelped.   
  
“Cos I want to flirt with Sam and Dean isn’t exactly a bad sight at this time of the morning either,” Gabe replied, looking over his brother’s shoulder and winking at Dean as he started making his way back upstairs.   
  
“OI SAMMY YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!” he yelled as he got upstairs before going into his room and slamming the door.   


A few minutes Sam came running downstairs and into the kitchen where he found Cas and Gabe, “Why’re you here?” he asked with a puzzled expression, stopping in his tracks at the sight of the boy that’d been flirting with him the other day.   
  
“I walked Cas over and Dean let me in,” he said with a shrug, making himself at home already as he started to pour out a coffee, “You two want any?”

“Um… sure... “ Sam replied before putting his hand on Cas’ shoulder and leading him into the lounge, “Does your brother have some kind of an obsession with me?”   
  
“Well I think obsession is a bit of a strong word, I’d just call it a crush,” Cas replied with a small shrug and a hint of a smile as Sam rolled his eyes a little, “Be glad Luci has some manners cos he likes you too but since Gabe met you first he let him call dibs for now on the flirting and stuff… do you want me to make Gabe go, cos I can.”

“He can stay I guess… I’d feel rude kicking him out and it’s not like he’ll make a move with you here right?”   
  
“It’s not that rude since he sort of invited himself over… and trust me he probably would, my presence is not much of a deterrence at all.”

“Oh…”   
  
“COFFEE’S DONE!” Gabe sang as he brought three mugs through on a tray and set them down on the coffee table before collapsing onto the sofa and cuddling one of the cushions, “So what’s the plan?”  
  
“The plan?”

“What’re we gonnaaaa doooooooo todaaaay?”   
  
“I dunno,” Sam said with a small shrug, “Me and Cas were just gonna watch some movies and play some chess.”   
  
“Booooring.”   
  
“Well what do you suggest?” Cas asked, glaring a little at his brother and letting out a heavy sigh.

 

*

 

Gabriel got home and let out the heaviest of sighs as he pulled his phone from his pocket to call Balthazar. As per usual it didn’t take long for the guy to answer and the boy didn’t even bother with a hello to start with.   
  
“I’ve just been over at Sam’s and Cas was there and they’re such nerds and oh my God it was boring. Do you have any idea how boring my fucking brother makes people?”   
  
“Well hello to you too Gabriel.”   
  
“Sorry…”

“Why’d you go around if you brother was there anyway?” Balthazar asked before stuffing some chips into his mouth while he tried to cook his dinner and hold the conversation with Gabriel.

“I thought it might be fun and I could get to know Sam better.”   
  
“Were you even invited?”   
  
“No…”   
  
“Well of course things were boring then, don’t go places you're not invited to, people aren’t prepared for you and they wanna do the things they arranged to do in the first place. Plus it’s sorta rude,” Balthy added with a small snort.   
  
“But he’d never intentionally hang out with me… seriously, I tried that, it didn’t work.” 

“When did you try that?”   
  
“Like twice.”

“What do you mean  _ ‘like twice’ _ , when were these two times Gabriel?”

“When I tried to get his phone number and then when I brought him home with me to see dads books and then when I gatecrashed - wait that’s three,” Gabriel whined quietly and rolled around on the bed as he held the phone to his ear, “Balthazar, what do I dooooooo?”   
  
“Just stop fucking around and ask him on a date,” Balthazar replied, ignoring the fact he’d never take that piece of advice for himself, but Gabriel seemed to like this other kid a lot so telling him to just become fuck buddies with him wasn’t a good idea.

“But… but… Balthazar… what if he rejects me?”   
  
“Yeah but get this,  _ what if he doesn’t _ .”

“But-”   
  
“Don’t but me child.”   
  
“BUT-”

“No. Ask him on a date. Take him to the movies, you won’t have to talk during it, you can spend a couple of hours together, have something to talk about after and things won’t be as awkward as you inviting him round to try and fuck him like you did last time.”   
  
“That just rude-”   
  
“It’s the fucking truth and you know it child. You are not going to get anywhere with this boy if you two don’t find things to talk about. Plus, you barely know him, you need to do that before this is going anywhere.”

“Yeah but don’t you just fuck people and not get to know them?”   
  
“I will have you know I know Ruby and Meg very well and they are fucking each other too- but Ruby isn’t fucking me anymore and that was her decision and I respect that. This is why I don’t date any more.”   
  
“So why are you telling me to date Sam?”   
  
“Because there is a fucking load of emotional baggage to deal with when you’re sexing it up with people, and you clearly like this guy a lot more than you think you do. Honestly in this situation, trying to date is the best option kid, don’t argue with me, I know what I’m about.”

“Stop talking like you’re  _ soooo _  much older than me.”

“No. Make me. And do as I say or I will beat your ass.”

“Kinky.”

“I swear to God Gabriel-”   
  
“What? That you’ll  _ beat my ass _ .”   
  
“You are an asshole and I’m hanging up so I can finish cooking my food instead of wasting my excellent relationship advice on you.”

“Oh yeah-” Gabriel clamped his mouth shut with Balthazar  _ actually hung up _ . He stood and stared at his phone for a good five minutes with wide eyes and a blank face as he tried to decide what he was meant to do now. This was not how it was meant to go. Balthazar was never meant to do that to him. He was meant to give him the right advice and things go happily ever after and they continue being bro’s and - the phone started ringing again.   
  
“Okay I’m gone cooking my food now, you wanna listen to my advice?” Balthazar said before the clear sounds of chewing could be heard on the other end.   
  
“What the hell are you eating?”   
  
“I made grilled cheese.”

“You call that cooking?”

“You don’t even fucking make your own meals so I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

“Fuck you.”   
  
“Please no, that will ruin all the hard work I’m putting into you getting with Sam.”

 

*

 

“Okay, so here’s the plan. You find him in school in the morning, ask him out on a date and if he says yes we move to phase two which will be henceforth dubbed ‘This is a fucking miracle’.”   
  
“What are you trying to say?”   
  
“I’m trying to say Sam is too good for you and I’ll be surprised if he says yes but I’ll be happy for you if you get the boy on a date.”  
  
“Rude.”

"You're rude. Now do as I said and I'm sure everything will go fine, just take him to the cinema, something easy. Okay?"  
  
"Okay..."


	7. The Dating Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Gabe go on their date while Charlie makes attempts to cheer up her brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really really sorry for how long this has taken (btw commenting asking for updates does persuade me to actually update if y'all needed to know that) I've had this chapter almost ready for a while but I didn't feel like it was long enough and I've been struggling for motivation since I can't currently call my co writer a lot due to his laptop dying recently.
> 
> If you wanted Sabriel there isn't actually a lot of it in this chapter, sorry.

“You know this is the first time I’ve properly arranged a date and asked someone out and shit right?” Gabriel said the moment that Sam opened the door to greet him.   
  
“ _ It’s nice to see you too _ . And yeah. I can tell,” the younger boy said with a small smirk, shaking his head slightly before stepping outside. “SEE YOU DEAN!” he yelled back into the house before closing up and locking the door behind him. To tell the truth, Sam himself hadn’t been on a proper date before either- yeah he figured it was probably similar to the million and one times he’d hung out with his friends… but he knew it meant something different today and that made him feel all kinds of funny and fluttery inside.

“So, to the cinema now?” Gabriel asked, raising his eyebrow as Sam stood there quietly, wondering what exactly the kid was thinking with that distant look on his face and the hint of a smile.

“Yeah, I mean… it’s not like we’ve got anywhere else to go- are we catching the bus?”   
  
“Yeah unless you wanna go back to mine and we can steal Michael’s car cos like I know where he keeps his keys.” Gabe was a little too nonchalant in this suggestion as he gently nudged Sam and brushed their hands together but left it to the boy to take the initiative to actually hold his if he wanted.   
  
“I don’t feel like that would be a good idea…” Sam replied awkwardly, not entirely sure whether Gabriel was being serious or not- the excited look in his eyes definitely suggested  _ he was _ though.   
  
“Yeah, let’s leave stealing my brother’s car for another date. Bus it is.” 

Sam nodded and glanced down at Gabriel’s hand before shoving his own both into his pockets and clearing his throat a little before saying, “Bus stop is this way.”

 

*

  
  


Balthazar was moping, that much Charlie could tell as she looked up from the comic book she was reading to watch her brother walk into the room and slump down onto the sofa like he’d lost every ounce of energy he possessed. She’d noticed he hadn’t eaten any of his food properly, pushing cereal around his bowl and dinner around his plate while the two of them sat in silence at the dinner table and it was worrying her. Something was wrong.

“Balth. Why’re you sad?”

“I’m not sad,” he mumbled as he curled up and covered his face with a pillow, when in fact he was most definitely sad and he knew he could not convince Charlie otherwise.   
  
“Yes you fucking are,” she said, chewing her lip a little and resisting the urge to punch him.   
  
“‘m not.”

“ _ Please _ . I know you too well.”   
  
“Shut up,” he mumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket down from the back of the couch so it covered every inch of him. He knew he was dejected and miserable but Charlie was really not the person he wanted to talk to this about. He didn’ want to talk to anyone about he just wanted to be on his own until he got over this bullshit.

“Has Meg not been over recently enough? Do you need me to call her over?”   
  
“Charlie,  _ no _ .”

The girl pouted a little before putting her book down, crossing the room and perching on the edge of the sofa next to her brother. “Come on bro… you can talk to me, I always talk to you about shit, don’t I?” Slowly she tugged the blanket away from his head so she could ruffle Balth’s hair and try to comfort him.

“I did a good thing so why do I feel so shitty about it?” He whined as if the world was ending and yet he had no energy to go do something about it.   
  
“What good thing did you do?”

“I helped Gabriel get a date with Sam because God knows he would have failed miserably if it weren’t for my wonderful fucking advice.” Balth snorted and laughed in a sad, self deprecating way. His sister just frowned, knitting her brows together while she tried to wrap her head around what he was saying and feeling.

“How are you feeling bad for that?” She asked, clearly perplexed.   
  
“I don’t know. That’s the problem,” he mumbled, covering his face again as he realised she was getting close to the point - and yet he felt the need to try and avoid it for longer.

“Isn’t Gabriel like your best friend? Why would you- I don’t follow? Do you think things will end badly between him and Sam or... something else?”

“I don’t know- although with Gabe’s current attitude and way of acting and what little I know of this Sam guy, it’s a fucking miracle they’re even going on a date. There’s always the possibility of things going wrong, that’s why I don’t date anymore…” At this point Balthazar let out a heavy wistful sigh and rolled over again - and that was when it twigged with Charlie.

“ _ Oh my God… you  _ **_like_ ** _ him…  _ **_Don’t you._ ** ” The tone of her voice was as if she’d just discovered some mighty secret that could take down the whole world in an instant. Granted considering that facts of the matter, it could definitely take down her brothers world.

“What the hell are you talking about Charlie? Of course I like him. He’s my friend,” Balthazar scoffed before rolling over and huffing.   
  
“ _ Nooo _ . There’s more to it,” the girl said, crawling onto the sofa beside her brother so she could hug him gently, “You  _ like _ like him.  _ Don’t you _ .”   
  
“Shut the fuck up. No.”

“Why you lyyyyyin’?” Charlie said a little too loudly in his ear while Balthazar tried to crawl away and cover his face with a pillow when he realised his sister had him trapped and now he would have to face this.

“Fuck off Charlie, we’re not seven year olds on a playground anymore…”

“No, we are adults on a sofa, now fucking talk to me and stop dancing around this massive fucking subject or God so help me I will steal your phone and call Gabriel myself.” The threat was enough to make Balthazar tense but he stillheld strong.

“You will do no such thing.”

“ _ You’re _ clearly not going to do it.”   
  
“He is on a  _ date  _ with Sam and I will not allow you or myself to be responsible for fucking that up for him because he is  _ happy _ .” The man’s voice had become a little strangled and tight as he considered the remote possibility of upsetting his best friend in that way - considering how badly the boys previous experience of a relationship with  _ anyone _ had gone. 

“But what about  _ you  _ being happy?”   
  
“He’s like twelve it’s stupid anyway… I’m too old…”   
  
“So you’re not denying it now.”   
  
“Shut up.”   
  
“You’ve got the hots for Gabe,” she teased, jabbing at his ribs and causing Balthazar to squirm and blushing and make feeble attempts at hittng her hands away before he jjst curled up around a pillow and tried to ignore her.   
  
“Please can you not.”   
  
“Why not?”   
  
“He is a child.”

“But-”   
  
“I TOLD YOU I DON’T DO THE DATING THING CHARLIE.”   
  
“Yes but consider this - you would be happy.”   
  
“It’s not good though, he’s too young.”   
  
“It’s like… not even that big of an age difference… and he’s not even that young like it’s fine as long as you don’t fuck him or hurt him- and I don’t even think fucking him would be much of a problem if his dad is really as soft as you say as long as both you two are consenting and shit. Especially in this state.”   
  
“Please Charlie. No. He likes Sam. There is no point- and Charlie, last time I checked, I’m very happy with my lifestyle.”

“You keep telling yourself that. Now. Get up.”   
  
“What?”

“We are going to go lazer quest.”  
  
“But-”   
  
“No arguing. Lazer quest. Now,” his sister replied, climbing off the couch herself and grabbing a hold of the much larger man’s arm to try and pull him with her.

“Can’t we just bake cake or something instead?”   
  
“You know I’m not good at baking Balth… That and I don’t get to shoot you for being an idiot.”   
  
“Shut up… I just… don’t even really wanna move…” he mumbled.

“What DO you want to do then?”   
  
“Wallow in self pity.”   
  
“For fuck sake. We can build a pillow fort and cuddle while you wallow.”  
  
“That sounds like a great idea Charlie, let’s do that.”


	8. Now you're legal.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean has his birthday, what more is there to tell? TW: brief rape mention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! Huzzah! Here have an update. The next one will hopefully come quicker.

“BOBBY I SAID I DIDN’T WANT A PARTY!” Dean cried out when he got downstairs to find birthday decorations everywhere- along with Sam accosting him at the bottom of the stairs to put a party hat on him.   
  
“But I already sent invites out to everyone like three weeks ago.”   
  
“How did you send invites to people?”   
  
“I gave them to Sam and told him to give them out to people you knew,” Bobby said with a small shrug, “Anna’s coming along. I know that much at least.”   
  
“Well at least I’ll have someone to talk to… I don’t like you making a big deal out of my birthday though.”   
  
“Well it’s your eighteenth so we thought we’d put a bit of effort into making it a memorable day” Crowley called through from the kitchen, “I made you a birthday pie instead of a cake.”   
  
“WHAT KIND OF A PIE?” Dean yelled, running through to the kitchen and nearly tripping over one of the chairs, causing Adam to yelp and leap out of the way while he frantically dusted flour off of his black shirt, grumbling about how helping with the baking was a stupid idea.   
  
“Apple pie Dean.”   
  
“YES THIS JUST BECAME THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!”

“So when I do things for yer birthday I get complained at but when Crowley does things suddenly it’s the best birthday ever, I see how it is,” Bobby called through, joking really, “Just remember I’m the one who suggested he make an apple pie.”

 

*

  
  
Dean was back to moping and there was already no pie left when people actually started turning up - he decided he wasn’t actually surprised when most of Cas’ family turned up, Sam had seemed to hit it off with them so it made sense he’d probably handed like half the invites to them. But it was a real relief when Anna came in.   
  
“Dude I have missed you so much,” he said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into a great, big tight hug, “Please come talk to me and hide with me somewhere. I don’t do parties.”   
  
“Oh but Dean, it’s your birthday,  _ your eighteenth birthday _ . You should enjoy it,” she said, laughing and pushing him away before pinching his cheek, “Stop looking so miserable.”   
  
“But but but I don’t want to do a party,” he said with a pout as Sam let off a party popper right next to his ear and covered him in confetti and string. 

“I need to go somewhere quiet,” Dean grumbled, walking off and getting covered in glitter as Castiel unwittingly let off another party popper just as Dean walked past.

  
  
*

  
  
Michael was at Dean’s party, not entirely sure how he ended up with an invite- although it might have had something to do with the fact that his siblings also all pestered him to be the one to drive them there. Maybe they’d rigged it that way or something - he didn’t really even know Dean or anything… granted he didn’t know anyone except his family since they’d moved, it wasn’t so easy making friends now he was out of highschool and instead looking for a job. However while he stood there he saw the one person he  _ had _  wanted to get to know since turning up in this town- and that was Dean… Dean who he now made the connection must be the birthday boy today. He wanted to go over and talk to him but found himself stuck to the spot instead, just kind of staring and not quite able to tear his eyes away. The guy was  _ hot _ , that he could not deny and never ever would as long as there was still breath in his lungs. To be honest he figured if he could get that guy then he could die happy - granted looks weren’t anything but his first impression had been that of someone polite and caring who walked his little brother back up to the door rather than just sitting in the car until he waved goodbye. Only good people did that kind of thing.    
  
It was only when he noticed a redhead sidle up to Dean and start chatting away with him that Michael became very suddenly  _ jealous _ , who was she? His girlfriend? Or maybe just his friend- Michael could only hope.  _ But they seemed so friendly with one another _ . HE had to find out- but he needed to do so in the least creepy way possible because though he’d already met Dean once, he needed to still make good impressions on him if he ever wanted to have a chance with the guy. He was about to actually get himself to walk over there and talk to him when suddenly the pair moved off quickly upstairs and Michael was left there, frozen mid step, staring after them and thinking how now there was no way he had a chance at all. Dean was clearly spoken for.

  
*

  
  
Dean sat in his room with Anna, playing two player uno which wasn’t actually all that fun- but it was something to occupy their time while they talked and threw popcorn at each other.   
  
“Y’know what?” he eventually said, slamming a draw four card on the floor and looking most displeased as his eyes continued to glare down at the carpet.   
  
“What?” Anna asked, slapping down a matching card and waiting for Dean  to pick up or retaliate.   
  
“Medusa didn’t deserve what she got,” Dean muttered, an angry pout on his lips that Anna wasn’t really used to seeing.   
  
“The fuck Dean?” Anna asked, laying her cards down before reaching over and placing a hand against his forehead.   
  
“What’re you doing?”   
  
“Checking you don’t have a fever.”   
  
“But-”   
  
“You’re coming out with random shit.”   
  
“No I’m not. It just crossed my mind,” Dean now looked a little… sad? About what Anna wasn’t sure - unless he was very emotionally invested in the wellbeing of the Gorgon Medusa.   
  
“Why?”   
  
“It just did.”   
  
Anna sighed and moved around to give Dean a gentle hug, rubbing his upper arm to try and stop him looking so down. “So why didn't Medusa deserve what she got?”   
  
“Because… she was a victim… of… fucking Poseidon and his  _ dick _ .” Dean threw his cards across the room and let out a huff.   
  
“Not Zeus?”   
  
“No. Poseidon.” His voice was firm in his response.   
  
“Why?”   
  
“Because he…  _ forced himself on her _ ,” Dean muttered, looking angry and uncomfortable at the same time while he slammed his fist down on his knee. “Fucking asshole… And then she’s the one that gets cursed and punished for it. Like the fyuck?”   
  
“Dean I think you need to calm down about mythical creatures.”   
  
“BUT-”   
  
“Dean. Play the fucking game with me.”   
  
“But Medusa.”   
  
“Yes. She is an excellent example of how fucked up culture is when it comes to rape. Now. Game. We don’t need to talk about those sorts of things on your birthday.”   
  
Dean sighed heavily, lay down on the floor and wrapped his arms around himself. He didn’t feel like playing anymore so he buried his face in the carpet and just made whining noises and Anna proceeded to jab him in the shoulder repeatedly. This failed to get anything close to the response she hoped for from the boy and so instead, as any good friend would, Anna lay down on the floor beside Dean and just waited for him to decide that talking seemed like a good idea again. The moment didn’t seem to be making it’s appearance so eventually she got up, went to leave, only for him to grab her ankle.   
  
“What?”   
  
“Pie.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“Get me my birthday pie. I need it.”   
  
Anna smiled softly. “If you let go of me I’ll get you your damn pie.”

Dean’s eyes shone as he nodded enthusiastically and let go of his friend.

  
*

Michael left the party early to go home. Dean hadn’t reappeared with the redhead and currently he was feeling rather like all his hopes and dreams had been crushed in the space of a few seconds - by something he didn’t even have to see. If he’d been facing the other way for just a few seconds he never would’ve witnessed what he did… never seen… he needed to forget about it, detail the event in his diary and then move on from Dean Winchester. The boy who had so quickly captured his heart...


End file.
